CONDENSERS FOR HEATING AND/OR COOLING SYSTEMS

Abstract

A method of cooling a refrigerant includes providing a condenser (200) including a condenser shell (202) that contains a condenser chamber (204), a condensing conduit (209), and a cooling conduit (217); condensing a refrigerant within the condenser chamber (204) from a vapour phase to a liquid phase by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber (204) to a fluid in the condensing conduit (209); supplying a first portion of the condensed refrigerant to the cooling conduit (217) via a first expansion valve (310) such that the first portion of the refrigerant decreases in pressure and temperature before entering the cooling conduit (217); and cooling the refrigerant in the condenser chamber (204) by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber (204) to the first portion of the refrigerant in the cooling conduit (217).

Claims

1. A method of cooling a refrigerant, comprising: providing a condenser comprising a condenser shell that contains a condenser chamber, a condensing conduit, and a cooling conduit; condensing a refrigerant within the condenser chamber from a vapour phase to a liquid phase by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber to a fluid in the condensing conduit; supplying a first portion of the condensed refrigerant to the cooling conduit via a first expansion valve such that the first portion of the refrigerant decreases in pressure and temperature before entering the cooling conduit; and cooling the refrigerant in the condenser chamber by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber to the first portion of the refrigerant in the cooling conduit.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising: supplying a second portion of the refrigerant from the condenser chamber to a compressor, wherein the second portion of the refrigerant bypasses the cooling conduit and optionally also bypasses the first expansion valve.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising: supplying the first portion of the refrigerant from the cooling conduit to the compressor; and supplying the first portion of the refrigerant and the second portion of the refrigerant from the compressor to the condenser chamber.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of supplying the second portion of the refrigerant to the compressor comprises supplying the second portion of the refrigerant from the condenser chamber to an evaporator via a second expansion valve, and then supplying the second portion of the refrigerant from the evaporator to the compressor; optionally, the first portion of the refrigerant bypasses the second expansion valve, and/or the second portion of the refrigerant bypasses the first expansion valve.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the cooling conduit to the compressor whilst bypassing the evaporator; or the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the cooling conduit to the compressor via the evaporator.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein: the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied to the compressor via a first inlet of the compressor and the second portion of the refrigerant is supplied to the compressor via a second inlet of the compressor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied to the first expansion valve in a liquid phase and is supplied from the first expansion valve to the cooling conduit solely in a liquid phase or as a mixture of a liquid phase and a vapour phase.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising vaporising the first portion of the refrigerant within the cooling conduit.

9. A system, comprising: a condenser comprising a condenser shell that contains a condenser chamber, a condensing conduit, and a cooling conduit, wherein the condenser is configured to condense a refrigerant within the condenser chamber from a vapour phase to a liquid phase by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber to a fluid in the condensing conduit; and a first expansion valve arranged between an outlet of the condenser chamber and the cooling conduit, the system being configured such that in use a first portion of the condensed refrigerant is supplied from the outlet of the condenser chamber to the cooling conduit via the first expansion valve such that the first portion of the refrigerant decreases in pressure and temperature before entering the cooling conduit; wherein the condenser is configured for refrigerant in the condenser chamber to be cooled by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber to the first portion of the refrigerant in the cooling conduit.

10. The system of claim 9, comprising: a compressor configured to receive a second portion of the refrigerant from the condenser chamber, wherein the system is configured for the second portion of the refrigerant to bypass the cooling conduit.

11. The system of claim 10, comprising an evaporator and a second expansion valve, wherein the system is configured for: the second portion of the refrigerant to be supplied from the condenser chamber to the evaporator via the second expansion valve, whilst bypassing the first expansion valve; the second portion of the refrigerant to be supplied from the evaporator to the compressor; and the first portion of the refrigerant to bypass the second expansion valve.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the compressor comprises a first inlet for receiving the first portion of the refrigerant and a second inlet for receiving the second portion of the refrigerant.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the system is configured for the first expansion valve to vary the flow rate of the first portion of the refrigerant based on at least one of: one or more properties of condensed refrigerant supplied out of the condenser chamber; one or more properties of the first portion of the refrigerant supplied out of the cooling conduit; and one or more properties of refrigerant within the condenser chamber.

14. A condenser comprising: a condenser shell that contains a condenser chamber and a condensing conduit, wherein the condensing conduit is configured for a refrigerant within the condenser chamber to be condensed from a vapour phase to a liquid phase by exchanging heat to a fluid in the condensing conduit; wherein the condenser shell further contains a cooling conduit for receiving a portion of the condensed refrigerant from the condenser chamber.

15. The condenser of claim 14, wherein the condenser chamber comprises a partitioning wall that divides the condenser chamber into first and second regions, wherein the condensing conduit is in the first region and the cooling conduit is in the second region, and wherein the partitioning wall comprises an orifice to allow refrigerant to flow from the first region to the second region.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Various embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a cooling system with conventional heat exchanging apparatus;

[0046] FIGS. 2A-C show views of a condenser that is in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a cooling system that comprises the condenser of FIGS. 2A-C; and

[0048] FIG. 4 shows a schematic of an alternative cooling system that comprises the condenser of FIGS. 2A-C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a conventional cooling system 100 for cooling a refrigerant, where the refrigerant is used to cool a target fluid (not shown). The system 100 comprises a conventional heat exchanging device 102 that is external to a condenser 104 of the cooling system 100. In the cooling system 100, refrigerant absorbs heat from a target fluid to be cooled when the refrigerant undergoes evaporation within an evaporator 114 of the cooling system 100. The target fluid may be any suitable fluid such as water or a brine (e.g. in the case of a water or liquid cooling system) or may be air (e.g. in the case of an air cooling system). The evaporated refrigerant is sucked out of the evaporator 114 by a compressor 116 and is supplied to the condenser 104 to be condensed so that the above-described cycle can be repeated.

[0050] Refrigerant that has been condensed into a liquid phase within the condenser 104 is supplied to the evaporator 114 via a first conduit 106 of the heat exchanging device 102. The heat exchanging device 102 is used to cool the refrigerant passing through first conduit 106 and thereby increase the cooling capacity of the refrigerant when it subsequently undergoes evaporation within the evaporator 114.

[0051] To cool refrigerant within the heat exchanging device 102, a first portion of the refrigerant is supplied out of the first conduit 106 of the heat exchanging device 102 to a second conduit 108 of the heat exchanging device 102 via a first expansion valve 110. Supplying the first portion of the refrigerant via the first expansion valve 110 results in a decrease in the pressure and temperature of the first portion of the refrigerant when supplied to the second conduit 108 of the heat exchanging device 102. The decrease in temperature results from expansion (i.e. a pressure decrease) at the first expansion valve 110.

[0052] Within the heat exchanging device 102, heat is exchanged from refrigerant in the first conduit 106 to refrigerant in the second conduit 108 to cool the refrigerant in the first conduit 106. The amount of heat absorbed by the first portion of the refrigerant in second conduit 108 (i.e. the extent to which the refrigerant in the first conduit 106 is cooled) can be increased by the first portion of the refrigerant undergoing an endothermic phase transition. Typically, the first portion of the refrigerant is in a liquid phase when supplied to the first expansion valve 110 but is in two phases (a liquid phase and a vapour phase) when supplied to the second conduit 108 of the heat exchanging device 102. A phase change of some of the first portion of the refrigerant from a liquid phase to a vapour phase can reduce the temperature of the refrigerant prior to it being supplied to the second conduit 108. This phase change of the first portion of the refrigerant may then continue as it absorbs heat within the heat exchanging device 102.

[0053] A second portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the first conduit 106 of the heat exchanging device 102 to the evaporator 114 via a second expansion valve 112. The second portion of the refrigerant bypasses (i.e. does not pass through) both the first expansion valve 110 and the second conduit 108. The second expansion valve 112 is used to expand the second portion of the refrigerant such that it may undergo evaporation within the evaporator 114 to cool the desired target (e.g. to cool water in a water cooling system). As the second portion of the refrigerant has been cooled within the heat exchanging device 102, the cooling capacity of the second portion of the refrigerant has been increased compared to if it had been supplied directly from the condenser 104 to the evaporator 114 via the second expansion valve 112 (i.e. compared to if it had not passed through the heat exchanging device 102).

[0054] The first and second portions of the refrigerant are both supplied to the compressor 116 for compression (pressure increase) before being supplied back to the condenser 104 to allow for the process to be repeated. In this example, the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the second conduit 108 to the compressor 116 via a first port 118 of the compressor 116 and the second portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the evaporator 114 to the compressor 116 via a second port 120 of the compressor 116.

[0055] The relative amount of refrigerant in the first and second portions can be varied to achieve optimal efficiency of the system.

[0056] The external heat exchanging device 102 can be used in the manner set out above to improve the efficiency of the cooling system 100 by increasing the cooling capacity of the refrigerant that is supplied to the evaporator 114 and reducing the power consumption of the compressor 116. However, the external heat exchanging device 102 introduces additional cost and space requirements to the cooling system 100. Furthermore, suitable cooling within the condenser 104 must still be achieved to ensure that refrigerant flows out of the condenser 104 to the external heat exchanging device 102 in a liquid phase.

[0057] FIGS. 2A-C show views of a condenser 200 that is in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The condenser 200 comprises a condenser shell 202 (i.e. a housing) containing a condenser chamber 204. The condenser chamber 204 is partitioned into first and second regions by a partitioning wall 205 that contains an orifice 207 for allowing fluid communication between the first and second regions.

[0058] The condenser 200 comprises a condensing conduit 209 that extends within the first region of the condenser chamber 204 for a fluid (e.g. water) to flow through from an inlet 211 of the condensing conduit 209 to an outlet 213 of the condensing conduit 209. The condensing conduit 209 takes a winding path through the first region of the condenser chamber 204 to fill a substantial portion of the region while allowing for refrigerant to flow between the sections of the condensing conduit. Alternatively, multiple separate condensing conduits may pass through the chamber 204 for cooling the refrigerant.

[0059] The condenser chamber 204 has an inlet 215 for receiving refrigerant in a gas phase (e.g. a vapour phase) and an outlet 225 for exiting refrigerant in a liquid phase. The inlet 215 of the condenser chamber 204 is positioned relative to the condensing conduit 209 to provide for heat exchange between fluid in the condensing conduit 209 and refrigerant in a gas phase within the first region of the condenser chamber 204. The condenser 200 is thereby configured for fluid flowing within the condensing conduit 209 to cool refrigerant entering the condenser chamber 204 (via the inlet 215) in a gas phase to condense refrigerant within the condenser chamber 204 into a liquid phase. Although shown with a single inlet 215 and a single outlet 225, the condenser chamber may have a plurality of inlets 215 and/or a plurality of outlets 225.

[0060] Liquid phase refrigerant that has been condensed in the first region may flow into the second region via the orifice 207 in the partitioning wall 205. The condenser 200 further comprises a cooling conduit 217 in the form of a tube that extends within the second region of the condenser chamber 204. The tube 217 has an inlet 219 and an outlet 221 that are separate from the inlet 215 and outlet 225 of the condenser chamber 204. The tube 217 is positioned within the second region of the condenser chamber 204 such that the condenser 200 is configured for the tube 217 to be submerged in refrigerant that has been condensed into a liquid phase within the condenser chamber 204.

[0061] The second region of the condenser chamber 204 comprises baffles 223 configured to define a path for refrigerant to flow from the orifice 207 in the partitioning wall 205 to the outlet 225 of the condenser chamber 204. The tube 217 extends within the second region of the condenser chamber 204 such that refrigerant flowing from the orifice 207 in the partitioning wall 205 to the outlet 225 of the condenser chamber 204 along a path defined by the baffles 223 will flow proximate to substantially all of the length of the tube 217 within the condenser shell 202. The condenser 200 is thereby configured for heat exchange to occur within the condenser shell 202 between refrigerant in a liquid phase in the condenser chamber 204 and refrigerant in the tube 217.

[0062] Although the features of the condenser 200 are described above as including the partitioning wall 205 and baffles 223 to define a path for the refrigerant to undergo suitable heat exchange within the condenser shell 202, the condenser 200 may be configured in any additional or alternative manner suitable for refrigerant to be condensed from a gas phase (e.g. vapour phase) to a liquid phase within the condenser chamber 204 and for heat exchange to occur between refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204 (e.g. once in a liquid phase) and refrigerant in the cooling conduit 217.

[0063] Any number of partitioning wall(s) 205, baffle(s) 223 and region(s) may be provided within the condenser chamber 204 while maintaining a path for refrigerant to flow from the inlet 215 of the condenser chamber 204 to the outlet 225 of the condenser chamber 204. The partitioning wall 205 and/or the baffles 223 may be omitted. The partitioning wall(s) 205 and baffle(s) 223 may each contain a single or a plurality of orifices. A suitable path (e.g. straight path, zig-zag path, serpentine path, chicane path, spiral path, helical path) may be provided in one or more regions of the condenser chamber 204, such as in one or more regions within which the cooling conduit 217 extends. The cooling conduit 217, or a portion thereof, may have any suitable size and shape (e.g. tube shaped, coil shaped, plate shaped, straight, serpentine, zig-zag, spiral shaped, helical shaped) suitable for being immersed in, and/or exchange heat with, a liquid phase refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204. Different portions of the cooling conduit 217 may have different shapes.

[0064] The cooling conduit 217 may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the path defined for the flow of refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204. The path defined for refrigerant being cooled in the second region may be concentric with the cooling conduit 217. In an embodiment, the baffles 223 are arranged in an interdigitated pattern. In this embodiment, the cooling conduit 217 may extend in a curved shape through the interdigitated pattern.

[0065] The cooling conduit 217 may contain protrusions or fins to increase the surface area available for heat exchange. The cooling conduit 217 may be shaped to a curve of the condenser shell 202. Refrigerant may flow through the cooling conduit 217 in the same flow direction as the flow of refrigerant being cooled within the condenser chamber 204 or the cooling conduit 217 may have a counter flow relative to the flow of refrigerant being cooled in the condenser chamber 204.

[0066] A plurality of cooling conduits 217 (e.g. a plurality of tubes) may be provided that are each in accordance with the cooling conduit 217 as described above. A plurality of condensing conduits 209 may be provided that are each in accordance with the condensing conduit 209 described above. The plurality of cooling conduits 217 may be in fluid communication with one another within the condenser shell 202 or sealed from one another within the condenser shell 202. The plurality of cooling conduits 217 may each have the same or differing features from any of the optional features described above for the cooling conduit 217. The plurality of cooling conduits 217 may be arranged in series or in parallel relative to the flow of refrigerant within the condenser chamber 204. The plurality of cooling conduits 217 may be arranged to have parallel or counter flows relative to one another.

[0067] The one or more cooling conduits 217 may be connected to the condenser shell 202 and/or to one another in any suitable manner. For instance, the one or more cooling conduits 217 may have a soldered, brazed, flanged or other connection. In an embodiment, a plurality of cooling conduits 217 may be provided in a stack of brazed plates within the condenser shell 202.

[0068] FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a cooling system 300 that comprises the condenser 200 of FIGS. 2A-C. The cooling system 300 is suitable for use with any condenser described herein comprising a cooling conduit 217 for receiving refrigerant. The cooling system 300 comprises a first expansion valve 310, second expansion valve 312, evaporator 314 and compressor 316 that may all be in accordance with the corresponding components of the cooling system 100 shown in FIG. 1. However, the cooling system 300 of FIG. 3 omits the external heat exchanging device 102 that the cooling system 100 of FIG. 1 comprises.

[0069] In the cooling system 300 of FIG. 3, a first portion of the refrigerant that has been condensed in the condenser 200 is supplied from the condenser chamber 204 to a first inlet 318 of the compressor 316 via a first path 306. A second portion of the refrigerant that has been condensed in the condenser 200 is supplied from the condenser chamber 204 to a second inlet 320 of the compressor via a second path 308. The first portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the outlet 225 of the condenser chamber to the cooling conduit 217 of the condenser 200 via the first expansion valve 310. Supplying the first portion of the refrigerant via the first expansion valve 310 results in a decrease in the pressure and temperature of the first portion of the refrigerant before it enters the cooling conduit 217. The decrease in temperature results from expansion (i.e. a pressure decrease) at the first expansion valve 310. The cooling conduit 217 cools refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204 (i.e. refrigerant in the condenser 200 external to the cooling conduit 217) by heat being exchanged from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber to the first portion of the refrigerant in the cooling conduit 217. The cooling conduit 217 may thereby be used to sub-cool refrigerant in a liquid phase within the condenser 200. This heat exchange is facilitated by the difference in temperature between refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204 and the first portion of the refrigerant in the cooling conduit 217. The amount of heat that can be absorbed by the first portion of the refrigerant can be increased by the first portion of the refrigerant undergoing an endothermic phase transition within the cooling conduit 217. In an embodiment, the first portion of the refrigerant is in a liquid phase when supplied to the first expansion valve 310 but is in two phases (a liquid phase and a vapour phase) when supplied to the cooling conduit 217. In this embodiment, a phase change of the first portion of the refrigerant from a liquid phase to a vapour phase may then continue as it absorbs heat within the cooling conduit 217.

[0070] After being used to cool the refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204, the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied out of the cooling conduit 217 and to the compressor 316. Substantially all of the first portion of the refrigerant may be in a gas or vapour phase when supplied from the cooling conduit 217 to the compressor 316.

[0071] With further reference to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the second portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the outlet 225 of the condenser chamber 204 to the evaporator 314 via the second expansion valve 312. The second portion of the refrigerant bypasses (i.e. does not pass through) both the first expansion valve 310 and the cooling conduit 217. The second expansion valve 312 is used to expand the second portion of the refrigerant such that it may undergo evaporation within the evaporator 314 to cool the desired target (e.g. to cool water in a water cooling system). The refrigerant may be supplied to the second expansion valve 312 in a liquid phase and may be supplied to the evaporator 314 in two phases (i.e. a liquid phase and a vapour phase). Cooling the refrigerant within the condenser chamber 204 using cooling conduit 217 increases the cooling capacity of the second portion of the refrigerant when it is supplied to the evaporator 314.

[0072] The second portion of the refrigerant is supplied to the compressor 316 from the evaporator 314 via second inlet 320. Within the compressor 316, both the first and second portions of refrigerant undergo compression (pressure increase) before being supplied back to the condenser chamber 204 via inlet 215 in a gas or vapour phase to allow for the process to be repeated. As referred to above, in the cooling system 300 of FIG. 3, the first portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the cooling conduit 217 to the compressor 116 via the first inlet 318 of the compressor 316 (i.e. a first compressor port) and the second portion of the refrigerant is supplied from the evaporator 314 to the compressor 316 via the second inlet 320 of the compressor 316 (i.e. a second compressor port). As the first and second portions of refrigerant are provided to the compressor 316 at different inlets, the first and second portions of the refrigerant may be supplied to the compressor 316 at different pressures and/or temperatures. This can allow the compressor 316 to operate more efficiently.

[0073] FIG. 4 shows a schematic of an alternative cooling system 400 that comprises the condenser of FIGS. 2A-C. The cooling system 400 of FIG. 4 may be used with any condenser described herein that comprises a cooling conduit 217. Compared with the embodiment of FIG. 3, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the compressor 416 has a single input for receiving both the first and second portions of the refrigerant.

[0074] With continued reference to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the first portion of the refrigerant may be intermixed with the second portion of the refrigerant after the second portion of the refrigerant has passed through the second expansion valve 312 but prior to the second portion of the refrigerant entering the evaporator 314. In this embodiment, the first portion of the refrigerant also passes through an evaporation chamber of the evaporator 314. In an alternative embodiment, the first portion of the refrigerant may be intermixed with the second portion of the refrigerant after the second portion of the refrigerant has passed through an evaporation chamber of the evaporator 314 (i.e. the first portion of the refrigerant bypasses the evaporation chamber). For example, the first and second portions may be intermixed after the second portion of the refrigerant has passed through a distributor of the evaporator but prior to either portion being supplied to the compressor 416.

[0075] Compared with the embodiment of FIG. 3, the embodiment of FIG. 4 does not require a compressor with multiple inputs. In addition, the first portion of the refrigerant may still provide additional cooling capacity if it passes through the evaporator 314. Remixing the first and second portions of the refrigerant before they enter the compressor 316 may also reduce the flow rate required to be maintained by the second expansion valve 312. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the compressor 316 may operate more efficiently if it receives the first portion of the refrigerant at a higher pressure than it receives the second portion of the refrigerant. Depending on operational parameters, e.g. the temperature of the target to be cooled within the evaporator 314, it may also be more efficient for only the second portion of the refrigerant to be supplied to the evaporator 314.

[0076] The relative amount of refrigerant in the first and second portions can be varied to achieve optimal efficiency of the system.

[0077] In embodiments, the first and second expansion valves 310, 312 may be coupled to one or more sensors that are used to control the amount of refrigerant in the first and second portions. For example, the first expansion valve 310 may be a thermostatic expansion valve (or other flow varying valve) coupled to a sensing bulb (or other temperature sensor) that senses the temperature of the first portion of the refrigerant in between it leaving the cooling conduit 217 and entering the compressor 316. The first expansion valve 310 may increase the amount of refrigerant in the first portion in response to the temperature sensed by the sensing bulb increasing. This corresponds to a rise in temperature of condensed refrigerant within the condenser 200 and increasing the amount of refrigerant in the first portion can act to counteract this rise in temperature. The second expansion valve 312 be a thermostatic expansion valve (or other flow varying valve) coupled to a sensing bulb (or other temperature sensor) that senses the temperature of refrigerant in between leaving the evaporator 314 and entering the compressor 316. Alternatively, the first and/or second expansion valves may operate electronically. For example, an electronic controller may control the first and second expansion valves to vary the amount of the refrigerant in the first portion compared to the second portion. This may be based on one more temperatures communicated to the controller and/or other operational parameters.

[0078] As with the example of FIG. 1, the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4 can improve the efficiency of cooling systems by extracting a first portion of the refrigerant and using the extracted portion of the refrigerant to increase the cooling capacity of the second portion of the refrigerant that is supplied to the evaporator. However, compared to the example of FIG. 1, the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4 allow for a more compact cooling system with less external components. Removing the need for an external heat exchanging device and/or reducing the number or length of condensing conduit(s) required can reduce the amount of required structure/material (which can reduce costs). This can also avoid a pressure drop of the refrigerant in an external heat exchanging apparatus. Furthermore, the use of the cooling conduit 217 within the condenser 200 can reduce the number and/or length of condensing conduit(s) 209 required by the condenser 200 that would be required to otherwise ensure that suitable condensation and cooling occurs within the condenser 200. For instance, there may be a small temperature difference (e.g. 5° C. or less) between a fluid in the condensing conduit(s) 209 and refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204. However, there may be a larger temperature difference between refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204 and refrigerant in the cooling conduit 217.

[0079] Moreover, a condenser 200 in accordance with the present disclosure can also, when in use, maintain a larger volume of liquid refrigerant within the condenser 200 (such as in a condenser sump, e.g. the second region of the condenser chamber 204 in the embodiment of FIGS. 2A-C). This allows the cooling system to operate more efficiently across a wider range of operating conditions. In addition, cooling the refrigerant in the condenser chamber 204 via the cooling conduit 217 can reduce or negate the presence of any gas phase in the refrigerant that is supplied from the condenser chamber 204 to the expansion valves. This ensures correct operation of the expansion valves, as an expansion valve configured to receive a liquid phase fluid may fail to correctly regulate the flow of the fluid if some portion of the fluid is supplied to the expansion valve in a gas phase.

[0080] It will be appreciated that embodiments described herein allow a condenser to provide an optimised flow of liquid refrigerant. For example, sub-cooling the refrigerant within the condenser may allow the condenser to provide a flow of liquid refrigerant from the condenser at relatively low temperatures and relatively high flow rates. Embodiments also enable a relatively lower total mass of refrigerant to be used, as the refrigerant more efficiently passes through the condenser. This can also improve the efficiency of other components within the system.

[0081] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope defined by the accompanying claims.

[0082] For example, although a number of cooling systems have been described, it will be appreciated that a condenser in accordance with the present disclosure may be used in a heating system or a heating and cooling system. In this regard, it will be appreciated that the fluid in the condensing conduit is heated by absorbing heat from refrigerant in the condenser. This may be exploited to perform desired heating of a target fluid at the condenser (i.e. where the fluid in the condensing conduit is a target fluid to be heated) in addition to, or as an alternative to, desired cooling of a target fluid at the evaporator. Advantages of the present disclosure discussed above in the context of cooling systems are also applicable to heating and/or cooling systems. For instance, increasing the amount of heat absorbed by the refrigerant within the evaporator may also increase the amount of heat expelled from the refrigerant within the condenser to heat a target fluid in the condensing conduit. A heating system or heating and cooling system may comprise any of the appropriate optional features discussed herein for cooling systems.

[0083] Although the cooling conduit is described as extending within the condenser chamber, it is contemplated that the cooling conduit may allow for heat exchange with refrigerant in the condenser chamber without extending therein. The external walls of the cooling conduit may form part of the walls of the condenser chamber and/or the condenser shell. The first and/or second expansion valves may be provided as component(s) of the condenser.

[0084] Although embodiments of the present disclosure refer to the omission of external heat exchanging devices, it will be appreciated that any suitable heat exchanging devices may be employed in combination with a condenser disclosed herein. However, a condenser disclosed herein may at least reduce the external heat exchanging requirements of a heating and/or cooling system.